Two Tall Guys Talking Sales
Opening a prospecting conversation with "we have 180 million contacts" may sound impressive inside the seller's company, but it often misses the buyer's reality. In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Kevin Lawson and Sean O'Shaughnessey challenge salespeople and sales leaders to stop confusing features with value. They unpack why strong Messaging starts with the buyer's problem, how Value selling creates separation, and why better sales management requires sales teams to understand what customers actually buy—not just what sellers think they sell. Key Topics Discussed Why "more data" is not the value proposition — 00:00 Sean opens with a sharp critique of prospecting tools that lead with database size. A salesperson does not need 10 million contacts. They need the right four people inside the right account. That distinction is central to effective Sales strategies because activity without relevance does not generate Revenue. The buyer does not buy your product; they buy the outcome — 01:56 Kevin reframes the discussion around the "why" behind value propositions. Customers rarely wake up wanting sales infrastructure, fractional sales leadership, or backend data aggregation. They want reliability, growth, better decision-making, and improved business performance. That is where real Business acumen enters the sales conversation. The hospital cleaning example: selling safety, not cleaning supplies — 04:21 Kevin shares a memorable story about a janitorial services salesperson who understood the true value of his work. In a hospital, the outcome was not a clean room. It was a safe, sterile environment for children receiving serious care. That example lands because it shows how Value selling moves beyond product language into buyer consequence. Sean's college selection story: outcomes beat features — 07:02 Sean explains how his college won his attention not by selling class size, curriculum, or facilities, but by emphasizing employment outcomes. For a young person entering a difficult economy, "graduates get jobs" mattered more than institutional features. The lesson applies directly to modern sales processes: speak to the outcome the buyer is trying to achieve. Using PONI to uncover what customers really value — 09:33 Sean introduces PONI: Project, Old way, New way, Improvement. It is a simple but powerful way to build case studies, sharpen Messaging, and identify what your product actually does for customers. The improvement is the story. The product is only the mechanism. Stop training buyers to shop you on price — 10:52 Kevin gets practical about a common sales mistake: opening with "I can save you money." That may feel buyer-friendly, but it teaches the customer to evaluate you on price alone. Strong Revenue management depends on protecting margin, defending value, and guiding the buyer toward profit, growth, reliability, and strategic impact. Key Quotes Sean O'Shaughnessey — 00:32 "I have never needed 10 million people that I need to talk to. What I needed was the four people at that company." Kevin Lawson — 04:21 "You all have the need to sell your product, but your customer may not need to buy your product. They need what your product does for them." Sean O'Shaughnessey — 09:57 "What was the improvement? Go figure that out, and then from that point on, always talk about the improvement." Kevin Lawson — 11:13 "If all you can do is save them money, you're not adding any other value." Kevin Lawson — 13:39 "Revenue feeds ego, profit feeds family." Additional Resources B2B Sales Lab — Kevin invites listeners to join the B2B Sales Lab for office hours, peer discussion, and deeper work on real-world sales challenges. Visit b2b-sales-lab.com. PONI Framework — Sean's practical structure for turning customer stories into stronger sales conversations: Project, Old way, New way, Improvement. CIH and Metrics — Kevin references prior podcast discussions on CIH and metrics as foundational to improving sales execution, qualification, and the probability of success in major opportunities. A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast Interview your five best customers and ask them to show you how they use your product or service. Do not ask what features they like. Ask what changed. What was harder before? What is easier now? What risk disappeared? What cost came out? What revenue opportunity opened up? Then rewrite your primary sales message around the improvement rather than the product. That single exercise will expose whether your current Messaging supports real Sales success or merely describes what you sell. Summary This episode is a direct challenge to lazy positioning. Kevin and Sean are not arguing against features, data, tools, or price discipline; they are arguing against making those things the center of the sales conversation. Buyers care about outcomes, risk, growth, profit, reliability, and internal justification. If your sales management system, Sales strategies, and sales processes do not force sellers to uncover and communicate those outcomes, your team will drift toward feature dumping and price defense. Listen to this episode if you want a sharper way to explain value, protect margin, improve Revenue generation, and turn customer outcomes into sales conversations that actually matter. B2B Sales Lab is a private, member-led community for sales professionals who want actionable insights, not theory. It's a space to ask real questions, share proven practices, and connect with others who are serious about improving revenue performance. Designed and led by veteran sales leaders, the Lab is where strategy meets execution. Join us at b2b-sales-lab.com You can reach out to Sean at New Sales Expert, LLC - Sean@NewSales.Expert [Sean@NewSales.Expert] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soshaughnessey/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/soshaughnessey/] You can reach out to Kevin at Lighthouse Sales Advisors & Sales Xceleration - kevin@lighthousesalesadvisors.com [kevin@lighthousesalesadvisors.com] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwlawson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwlawson/] You can book time on Kevin's calendar at https://lighthousesalesadvisors.pipedrive.com/scheduler/JP7rZXH3/virtual-meeting-booking-time-with-kevin [https://lighthousesalesadvisors.pipedrive.com/scheduler/JP7rZXH3/virtual-meeting-booking-time-with-kevin] You can book time on Sean's calendar at http://newsales.expert/sean-oshaughnessey-calendar/
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